Friday's P.M. Hot Clicks: Classic Photos of Ken Griffey Jr.

Photo Tribute to Ken Griffey Jr.

Ken Griffey Jr. had to grapple with following in the footsteps of his three-time All-Star father of the same name, but it wasn't long before the younger Griffey made a name for himself, starting with being the No. 1 pick in the 1987 draft.

V.J. Lovero

Ken Griffey Jr. reaches the majors in 1989, and a year later appears on the first of his many Sports Illustrated covers on May 7, 1990.

Richard Mackson

Ken Jr. plays while his father's career is winding down in Cincinnati, making them the first father-son duo to play in the big leagues at the same time. In Aug. 1990, Ken Sr. joins his son on the Mariners and one month later, on Sept. 14 the Griffeys hit back-to-back home runs off California Angel Kirk McCaskill.

John Cordes/Icon Sportswire

While his father was mostly a singles and doubles hitter, Ken Griffey Jr. is a power hitter from almost the moment he sets foot in Seattle. In 1993, he wins the Home Run Derby at the All-Star Game in Baltimore, and becomes the only person ever to hit a ball off the warehouse beyond the right field fence. Here, Griffey clowns around with Barry Larkin before the Derby.

Wilfredo Lee/AP

Ken Griffey Jr. appears on the April 4, 1994 Baseball Preview issue of Sports Illustrated with Mike Piazza in the foldout.

Peter Read Miller

Ken Griffey Jr. appears on the June 6, 1994 cover of Sports Illustrated, after hitting 29 home runs in the first two months of the season. The MLB season ended prematurely on Aug. 12 due to a labor dispute, although Griffey had cooled off a bit at that point with 40 home runs on the year.

Ken Griffey Jr. quickly became one of the best defensive players in the game, winning 10 consecutive AL Gold Glove awards from 1990 to '99. On this catch in May 1995, Griffey broke his wrist and missed 73 games.

Gary Stewart/AP

In 1995, the Mariners looked like they may be headed out of Seattle, until an electrifying playoff run, keyed by Ken Griffey Jr., helped land them approval for a new ballpark. In the division series against the Yankees, Griffey hit five home runs and scored the series-winning run in the 12th-inning of a do-or-die Game 5. He was mobbed by his delirious teammates.

Elaine Thompson/AP

Ken Griffey Jr. appears on the Oct. 16, 1995 cover of Sports Illustrated, following the Mariners ALDS victory over the Yankees.

Richard Mackson

In 1997, Ken Griffey Jr. won his only MVP award to date with a monster season: .304 average, 56 HRs, 147 RBI, .646 slugging for the AL West champion Mariners.

Chuck Solomon

Ken Griffey Jr. appears on the May 17, 1999 cover of Sports Illustrated.

V.J. Lovero

In 1999, still in the prime of his career, Ken Griffey Jr. was voted to major league baseball's 30-man All-Century Team along with Willie Mays, another fun-loving star who was as talented in the field as he was at the plate.

Chuck Solomon

After the 1999 season, Ken Griffey Jr. asked to be traded back to his hometown Cincinnati Reds. The Reds acquired Griffey for four players, but the trade did not have the desired effect for Griffey or the Reds. While Seattle made the playoffs the next two years, Griffey suffered through numerous injuries and the Reds do not reach the postseason in his nine years with the team.

Walter Iooss Jr.

After playing 145 games in his debut season in Cincinnati in 2000, Ken Griffey Jr. was felled by a string of injuries to his hamstrings, knees, ankles and shoulder. Over the next six seasons, he made eight appearances on the disabled list and never played more than 128 games in a season. Here, Griffey is helped off the field by teammates Deion Sanders and Jaosn LaRue after injuring his left hamstring on March 26, 2001.

Don Frazier/AP

Ken Griffey Jr. opened the 2004 season healthy, appearing on the June 14, 2004 cover of Sports Illustrated.

John Biever

On June 20, 2004, Ken Griffey Jr. joined the 500-home run club with a blast off the Cardinals' Matt Morris in St. Louis, and later shared a hug with his dad at the game. It couldn't have come on a better day — Father's Day.

Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images

In 2006, Ken Griffey Jr. played for Team USA, and his father joined him as a coach, at the inaugural World Baseball Classic. While Griffey starred, batting .524 and being named to the All-WBC team, the U.S. was a huge disappointment, failing to reach the semifinals.

Steve Grayson/Getty Images

It took seven years, but Ken Griffey Jr. finally returned to Seattle in June 2007 for his first games in the Emerald City since being traded away. Ichiro was the new star in town, but Griffey earned plenty of cheers, especially after hitting a pair of home runs in the series finale.

AP

Ken Griffey Jr. would finish his 22-season career where he started, in Seattle. His numbers faltered with the Mariners, however, and the 40-year-old Junior retired on June 2, 2010. Griffey became a lock for the Hall of Fame in 2016. When Junior does enter Cooperstown, though, he will be among an even more select, if less fortunate, fraternity: inductees who never won a World Series.

Ted S. Warren/AP

Ken Griffey Jr. and Ferguson Jenkins throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the 2013 World Baseball Classic first round game between the USA and Canada at Chase Field in Phoenix.

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